by adminFIDA Nigeria Side Event at The 62nd NBA Annual General Congress
The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria on the 24th of August 2022, held her Side Event at the 62nd NBA Annual General Conference at NIIA, Victoria Island in Lagos State with the theme: Repressive Cultural and Religious Norms Against Women and Children: Bold Transitions from Rhetoric to Action
The Master of Ceremony was Oluwatomisin Adebukola, an award-winning broadcaster and journalist, a writer, and a gender and human rights advocate.
In attendance was the Special Guest of Honor, First Lady of Lagos State Her Excellency Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu ably represented by Mrs. Edith Ebute wife of the Hon Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget. And our Special Guest of Honor and Chairperson of the Session Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe Managing Director/CEO of Fidelity Bank.
Other Guests were the Hon. Commissioner, Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) Cecilia Bolaji Dada, Dr Babajide Martin, Director of Public Prosecution, Lagos State; Hon. Justice Jumoke Olusola Pedro, of the Lagos State Judiciary, FIDA Nigeria National Executive Committee Members, FIDA International Director, Ezinwa Okoroafor, Joy Ezeigbo, Fida International Regional Director (west & North Africa); Past FIDA International Officers; Past National Officers; Linda Bala, First Vice Elect of the NBA; FIDA Branch Executive members
Our Plenary Session was Moderated by Prof. Felicia Anyogu, the Chairperson of FIDA CLE Committee and a Professor of Law at the Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka Anambra State; Our erudite guest speakers who were most enlightening, frank, and very practical in their presentations were Chukwuemeka Eze, a Legal Practitioner and Public Affairs Analyst, Prof. Sylvia Chika Ifemeje, the Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice Anambra State, Frank Tietie, the Director Citizens Advocacy for Social Economic Rights (Caser)
FIDA Nigeria members turned out massively for the event and it was a great success
fidanigeria #nbaagc
by adminFIDA Nigeria Annual Dialogue & Peer Learning Forum for Community Gatekeepers
Since 2020 FIDA Nigeria with support from Ford Foundation has been implementing a project tagged “Work with Gate Keepers including Women Leaders, Youths, Religious Leaders and Traditional Rulers to Address Social Norms that negatively affect the status of women and entrench violence against women and girls” aimed at mitigating incidences of gender-based violence in six communities across the project focal states including Ekiti, Lagos and Plateau states by altering social norms, beliefs and traditional practices in the communities through community-led change.
As the project comes to an end, FIDA Nigeria as part of activities towards finalizing its closure on Thursday, 25th August 2022 held an “Annual Dialogue & Peer Learning Forum for Community Gatekeepers in addressing social norms that negatively affect the status of women and entrench violence against women”.
The purpose of this national dialogue was to upscale the previous dialogues organized at state level to a national level with the aim of providing a platform for learning, improved intervention approaches and collaboration amongst Gatekeepers in the project focal communities towards ending gender-based violence as well as boost self-assessment/stocktaking through peer reviews towards ensuring the sustainability of the intervention and to confer awards on selected community champions who have contributed in ending GBV in their communities.
As part of our sustainability plan for this intervention, communities have developed & created action plans to prevent prevalent harmful, religious & cultural practices experienced by women & girls in the communities they are domiciled. This was achieved through capacity-building activities on leadership and GBV issues, town hall meetings, sensitization & awareness campaigns in communities on the prevention of this menace and selection of community champions on SGBV among others.
The event ended on a high note with the acknowledgment of giant strides taken by the communities, the presentation of awards, group photographs and networking amongst stakeholders.
Fida Nigeria confirms the successful implication of this project in the achievement of project objectives and overwhelming satisfaction and happiness of target communities
by admin2-Day Staff Capacity-Building Training
On 18th August 2022, FIDA Nigeria with support from Action Aid as part of activities under the Women, Voices, and Leadership (WVL) Project commenced a 2-day staff capacity-building training.
The training objective aimed at institutional strengthening focused on the development and adoption of institutional policies, human rights approach, and other relevant and dynamic concepts/tools trending in gender-based violence programming.
In addition, staff of the organization also had a step down of the Action Aid Psychosocial Support Training as part of efforts aimed at improving GBV responses for survivors.
At the end of the training, staff were trained on the usage of the DASS Screening tool and soft copies of the screening tool deployed across all departments whilst hard copies will be resident in the Legal and Counselling Department of the Organization.
by adminFIDA Nigeria Bi-Annual Coordination Meeting
On the 16th of August 2022, Palladium in collaboration with FIDA Nigeria as one of its resource partners held its 2nd Bi-Annual Coordination meeting with some key stakeholders in the fight against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), Child Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) in Nigeria as part of activities under the SCALE project.
The meeting was to track progress, experience sharing by some key stakeholders, and further advance collaboration between frontline practitioners, SCALE resource partners, and relevant government entities across the SGBV and CEFM sectors in Nigeria.
by adminCall For Expression of Interest
Call For Expression of Interest To Develop A Training Manual On The Roles Of Women In Conflict Resolution And Peace Building
The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria is a non-profit, non-governmental organization made up of over 4,000 female lawyers with several years’ experience in utilizing the law to address social problems in Nigeria. The organization’s mandate is the enhancement, promotion, protection and preservation of the rights and welfare of women and children in Nigeria FIDA Nigeria implements key projects and activities aimed at providing access to justice to indigent persons, particularly women and children.
RATIONALE
Violence and conflict are deeply gendered as people’s ideas and attitudes towards violent conflict and how they experience it depends on gender relations, roles and norms. In many societies, the ability to use violence is attributed to men, and often linked to ideas about manliness and masculinities. The use of violence is also linked to unequal power relations.
These unequal power relations has created relations of dominance of men over women and men over other men, which are upheld and justified through social, moral, cultural, religious, political and economic norms. Conflict has the potential to reinforce the ”unequal dualism” between women and men by amplifying masculine notions of strength, determination and fearlessness versus depicting women as passive mothers or as supporting and caring wives in need of protection.
In indigenous Nigeria Communities, women are rarely included in decision-making circles let alone in dialogue around peace and security strategies. This is as a result of cultural characterization of the gender roles that women in such communities have been saddled with. Due to scores of men killed during conflict, women are forced to assume head of household in most homes, but continue to face structural and cultural barriers to economic opportunity. Despite the persistent exclusion of women from social and political power to alter these conditions, women nonetheless do regularly function as parties to conflicts as negotiators, informants, mentors and as members of non-armed groups.
As noted in the Platform for Action of the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women, “while entire communities suffer the consequences of armed conflict and terrorism, women and girls are particularly affected because of their status in society as well as their sex”. This has caught women in a vicious paradox because while, on the one hand, they are the main civilian victims of conflicts, they are, on the other hand, often powerless to prevent them, excluded from the negotiating tables when it comes to their resolution and marginalized in the post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation efforts. The general exclusion of women from decision-making positions prior to, during and following violent conflict, reinforces their victimization.
Civil Society Organizations have begun to consider that women can play a particularly important role in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and have appreciated the positive contribution women can make in post-conflict reconstruction and peace consolidation. Hence, empowering women in conflict situations would help prevent gender-based violence such as the abominable crimes of rape, forced pregnancy, sexual slavery and among others.
It is against this background that FIDA Nigeria through her Canada Fund for Local Initiative seeks to urge focal communities to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels, institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts because we recognize that women’s equal participation in the peace process is an essential condition for establishing lasting peace as they bring alternative perspectives to conflict prevention at the grass-roots and community levels.
To achieve the aforementioned, FIDA Nigeria seeks to train Communities and Grassroots women on Conflict Resolution and Peace Building to enhance their peace advocacy skills, conflict mitigation, response and resolution.
Purpose of Consultancy
FIDA Nigeria is seeking to engage a consultant to develop a training manual on the Roles of Women in Conflict Resolution and Peace Building which will be used for the purposes of promoting the inclusion/participation of Women in Peace Building and Conflict mitigation across focal communities in Plateau State, Nigeria.
This manual will be used to build the capacities of community women leaders through highlighting the importance of verifying escalated security alerts and crisis response mechanisms in target communities.
Duties and Responsibilities
The successful candidate will be tasked to develop a comprehensive manual on the roles of women which shall cover but not limited to the following components/modules: Introduction to Gender and Peacebuilding, roles of women in peacebuilding, Gender Analysis of Conflict and Violence, Skills for Women in Conflict Mitigation and Peacebuilding amongst others as directed by the FIDA project team.
Review and Validation of the Training Manual
In collaboration with the Project Team, the Programme Manager shall review and validate all contents of the training manual. A proposed training manual outline and method for teaching each topic/chapter shall be submitted to fidanigeria@yahoo.com.
The training materials developed must be delivered to the National Programme Manager on a date not later than the deadline for submission via email at fidanigeria@yahoo.com.
Requirements
The applicant should be a national or international educational, research, think-tank, or any relevant organization with the expertise and reputation for developing training manuals in peacebuilding and conflict resolution.
Duration
The assignment is for a period of five weeks from the date of signing the contract.
Fees
The fees for this assignment is subject to negotiation with the selected individual.
How to apply
Qualified candidates should send curriculum vitae and cover letter detailing relevant experiences to the address to the Country Vice-President/National President to hr@fida.org.ng or fidanigeria@yahoo.com
The subject of e-mail should be “Application for Consultancy to develop a training Manual”
Deadline: Applications should be submitted on or before 30th August 2022.
by adminFIDA Oyo Advocacy visit to Jesus Kids Home for the disabled
FIDA Oyo Branch, ably led by the Chairperson ( Mrs. Olusola Sulayman) paid an Advocacy visit to Jesus Kids Home for the disabled (A registered Non-Governmental Organization) which was established to help children who have been abandoned on account of physical challenges, as well as some who have been subjected to rape and abuse.
The visit was in line with FIDA Nigeria’s mandate/strategic plan which is to engender the improved participation of women, youth, and persons living with disabilities in all spheres of human endeavor.
FIDA Oyo was able to create an awareness in the minds of the people at the home, using the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law of Oyo State, as a point of reference.
The Chairperson appreciated the management of Jesus Kids Home, Pastor Mrs. Ololade Adamolekun for the warm reception accorded FIDA Oyo State. The visit was rounded off with dancing and prayers with and for those domiciled in Jesus Kids Home
by adminCoordination Meeting For Community Paralegals and Service Providers
FIDA Nigeria as part of activities under the Action Aid WVL Project (Year 4) held a coordination meeting for community paralegals and service providers on 10th August 2022.
The meeting was aimed at establishing an efficient and effective referral pathway structure for responding to GBV in selected communities across three Area councils of the FCT.
At the end of the meeting, community paralegals and service providers had a clearer understanding of their roles, the available referral mechanisms as well as the various service providers cataloged under the referral pathway system for improved and effective responses to GBV cases.
by adminCourtesy Visit To The Attorney General And Commissioner For Justice, Oyo State, Ibadan.
FIDA Oyo State Branch, ably led by her Chairperson, Mrs. Olusola Sulayman paid a courtesy/familiarization visit to the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oyo State, Ibadan on 6th August 2022.
The visit also aimed to strengthen the synergy in the fight against the high incidence of female genital mutilation in Oyo State which according to National data ranks fifth. Oyo State can improve through collaboration in advocacy and sensitization of Women and Youth.
The team was well received by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Oyo State Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo SAN. He promised to partner with FIDA Oyo in helping to fight against norms that affect the right of women and children.
by adminVisit to Female Custodial Facility Kirikiri Prison In Lagos
FIDA Nigeria, Lagos Branch Prison Watch Committee ably led by the Head of the Committee, Mrs. Uzoamaka Nwodili on Wednesday the 10th of August 2022, visited the Female Custodial Facility Kirikiri, Lagos (Prisons) and offered legal services to the inmates, especially the indigent ones.
The total number of inmates in the facility was 240, the number of those awaiting trial was184, number of convicts was 51, number of inmates on death row was 5.
FIDA Lagos attended to a great number of the inmates that required legal assistance and will follow up their cases in court.
by adminFIDA Celebrates Nigerian Women in Sports
The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria celebrates in grand style female sports champions winning 12 gold medals for Nigeria at the just concluded Commonwealth Games which held in Birmingham United Kingdom
Despite all the negatives attributable to supporting women in sports such as:
– Poor infrastructure for training etc
– Lack of proper financial support
– The withholding and or non-payment of allowances and benefits
– Bad structure and leadership challenges
– Discrimination & sexism in sports, these negatives primarily against women in sports must stop
Our sportswomen have nevertheless, with pure grits, sheer determination, perseverance, and strong will rose to overcome all challenges and have shown to the world the power of strong, focussed, committed women with a vision, devoted and passionate about a cause
Nigeria got TWELVE GOLD medals at the just concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham i.e., our flag was hoisted, and the Nigerian Anthem played because of these meritorious women, some of whom also furthermore broke set records
On pure merit they deserve the resounding accolades, respect, and even national commendation and honours; not to mention a ‘SHEROES’ welcome on their return to Nigeria.
Nigeria, (her relevant agencies and indeed the good people of Nigeria) must rise up to further fund and support such great young girls who are still in their twenties to enable them achieve even more for our nation going forward.
Congratulations to:
- Adijat Adenike Olarinoye – who won gold in the women’s 55kg weightlifting event.
- Rafiatu Folashade Lawa l- who won a gold medal in the women’s 59kg weightlifting event
- Chioma Onyekwere – First Nigerian to win gold in the discus event at any Commonwealth Games
- Goodness Chiemerie Nwachukwu – won a gold medal in the women’s discus throw.
- Alice Folashade Oluwafemiayo – who won gold in the women’s 59kg weightlifting event
- Blessing Oborududu – who won a gold medal in the women’s 68kg wrestling event.
- Odunayo Folasade Adekuoroye – who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg wrestling final.
- Miesinnei Mercy Genesis – who won a gold medal in the women’s 50kg wrestling event
- Eucharia Njideka Iyazi – who won a gold medal in the women’s shot-put event.
- Tobi Amusan – who won a gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdle race event while later winning another gold medal defending her 100m hurdle race title
- Tobi Amusan, Favour Ofili, Rosemary, and Nzubechi – who won Gold in 4 x 100m Relay
- Ese Brume – who won gold in the Long Jump
FIDA salutes and commends their fire, passion, zeal, and performance. We applaud their efforts and sacrifices while celebrating their successes as we call on other young girls to emulate these female sports champions of Nigeria. Indeed, the future is women!!!
– Support women in sports
– Stop gender discrimination in sports
– Promote and reward female sports champions